The battle of the languages – Italian, English and Maltese – was started by the Imperial government when, in 1825, a commission was appointed to investigate and to reform the laws of Malta. The violence of the Language Question was not mitigated until after 1933.
In 1881, Patrick Keenan introduced a structured educational curriculum. His staged emphasis of the pari passu system meant the compulsory study of Italian and English. When revised in 1887, it ultimately proved to be the most important agency in fostering pro-Italian, pro-British or pro-Maltese political alignment.
The system of education embodied the most emphatic dichotomy. Education affected the social, economic, and political structure of the country. It also involved racial sympathies, cultural rivalries and the ideological beliefs of the political factions.
In other words, an intimate connection came to exist between education and Maltese politics. Also, in the pathological atmosphere of nationalism, Anglophobia, Italianity and Maltese identity became a political crusade that transformed language into a political issue.
The Italian language had held a commanding position in Malta. It was enshrined in an antiquity of five centuries. This legacy of the Sicilians and the diplomatic medium of the Order was also the language of polite literature, of the law courts as well as of official life.
Italian was the written language and the medium of instruction. It was the favoured language of all state schools and educational institutions. However, though Italian was spoken and understood in urban and suburban Malta, to the majority of the inhabitants of the rural areas it was virtually unknown.
Still, Italian was indispensable in commercial, professional and religious circles. Moreover, the various leaders of the country were mostly Italian-speaking.
The predominance of Italian was the fundamental source that bolstered Italian culture in Malta. It was the primary element that eventually decided that young men with intellectual ability should rise in commerce and the professions from where the political elite were generally recruited.
Knowledge of Italian was not only a status attribute of the pro-Italian elite class but also reflected the dichotomy between the conservative element and the working masses. The point was that a community of language tended, to a certain extent, to bring about a community of feeling. It was also a means of increasing political tendencies towards Italy.
The Colonial government did not fail to exploit this position. From knowledge of the English language instead of Italian, the Maltese people could not but learn to sympathise with and to respect their rulers. Thus, education was not only to transmit knowledge; its purpose was political, to mould the Maltese will to that of the Imperial government.
The administration set about to organise and superintend every educational institution in order to exercise influence in the delicate mission of framing the minds and hearts of the people. The Imperial government favoured English-speaking civil servants and traders: it supported the upward social mobility of these people to create allies in the political arena.
The language question had enormous repercussions in the field of education; it muddled the minds of the children. The process of change, suppression and hindrance of Italian, the structure of the schools curriculum and the methods of instruction, became a matter of Imperial policy.
But while English made inroads against Italian among the educated population of urban and suburban Malta, it failed to make any appreciable advance in the Maltese-speaking, country districts. In short, it was the Imperial government that endowed language with political significance, turning it into an aggressive crusade, and a forceful theory.
According to this Imperial theory, the English language had a central position in the work of the Imperial administration in Malta, and the Keenan Report (1881 and 1887) set about to put this principle into action.
Keenan pledged not just vigorous methods but also coercive measures: English, instead of Italian, was suggested as the medium of instruction. Incompetent teachers in English language were to be suspended; prospective ones were to receive their training in England. The system of remuneration by results and the submission to fitness examinations were other compulsory actions.
Needless to say, the Keenan Report engendered acrimonious feeling and opposition. It was only implemented with modifications, as it was disastrous to the immediate personal interest of the professional classes.
Nevertheless, English gradually became another medium of instruction in most educational institutions.
Even though two foreign languages were imposed on the educational system and practically nothing was taught of the Maltese language, this did not destroy the vernacular
But the conservatism of the University could hardly be shaken. It was precisely this institution that actively participated in the development of nationalism when its very existence was threatened. The glorious old University of Malta was the vital centre of Italian tradition and culture.
Lord Plumer’s timely warning showed how determined the Imperial government was in following the policy of Anglicisation:
“The recent behaviour of the students in connection with the proposal to revert to the system of degrees in force prior to 1915 when the Statute of the University was amended, has indicated that the appointment of an Englishman as rector will meet with strong disapproval and will be regarded by those interested in politics as an attempt to change the national character of the Malta University and to undermine the Italian language.”
But one direct consequence of this Imperial policy in Malta’s educational system was that the resultant forces of opposition, pro-Italian and pro-British, became evident in the existence of parties in the Council. The fight for supremacy of one language over another became the determining factor in Maltese politics.
To this destructive influence in the battle against the Italian language were employed yet other legal coercions. To be qualified to vote for a member of the Council, an elector had, according to law, to possess a competent knowledge of English, besides Italian. In the official regulations for appointments in the civil service, English was made obligatory, together with Italian, in the competitive examinations.
Regulations were made whereby, among the qualifications necessary for employment in the public service such as the police force, the Maltese Military Corps and the Mercantile Marine, a competent knowledge of the English language became absolutely essential. Italian was excluded from the examination to the naval dockyard.
In short, the English language was made the controlling instrument not only for political participation in elections but also for economic advantages in employment. However, of all forms of Imperial political propaganda, that of language was perhaps the slowest in Malta.
Naturally, practical people, with personal interests and sentiments towards Britain, visualised the changing image of Malta and the advantage offered by the English language. They came to feel as much a part of the British Empire as did an Englishman.
As a result, another form of ethical dualism appeared in Malta. Its significance was associated with allegiance to political factions. The new nucleus of a cosmopolitan and sophisticated community brought about another division and a new political imbalance.
To them, the ability to speak English came to be regarded as extremely important in achieving advancement in their career. The English language was also looked upon as the passport for emigrants competing with other workers in the British Dominions. As has been pointed out, the cult of English increased because thousands found employment in the Military Services or at the Naval Establishments.
However, the Imperial government blundered heavily when it attempted to hasten Anglicisation through coercion: the English language steadily made progress without compulsory pressure. The policy was partly successful but aroused unnecessary opposition from the old professional classes because of its compulsory aspects.
Briefly then, on grounds of expediency, utilitarianism and rational principles, public opinion could not but favour the general cultivation of English. However, much more was accomplished by promoting a voluntary movement, spontaneous development, and sentimental attachment.
There is no doubt that even though two foreign languages were imposed on the educational system and practically nothing was taught of the Maltese language, this did not destroy the vernacular. The reasons were not unfamiliar.
The whole population – both in the towns and rural areas – spoke the language. Maltese was the language of familiar conversation, of the markets and of the practical affairs of religious life, whether for catechism, devotion or sermons.
Though it had been exposed to a process of suppression, intermittent efforts had been made since 1798 to re-establish Maltese as a written language. Nevertheless, the teaching of Maltese was intrinsically hindered by vested interests and by political pressures aimed to accentuate still further the pro-British and the pro-Italian dichotomy.
The leaders of Maltese opinion never expressed unanimity on the subject of the Maltese language. Absurd proposals were occasionally made to abolish the language, to repudiate it altogether, or to let it be tolerated until it died out. Those who entertained such deprecatory views were chiefly the political vindicators of Italian leanings.
Another numerous section enthusiastically believed that the Maltese language should be cultivated and used as a medium of instruction. This section of opinion comprised those who were ardent advocates for the extension of the English language.
This divergence of views divided political factions whose nationalism embodied the politico-linguistic question, and the respective tendencies.
The extensive use of English and Italian in local educational institutions greatly prejudiced the cause of education. The trilingual problem and the problems arising out of the use of two languages as media of instruction when none of these was the home language, led workmen to remain in a state of ignorance, which was later detrimental to the emigration movement.
Pro-Maltese (and the Labour Union was the chief instigator in this respect) advocated the extension of the original language. To this political faction, the Maltese language became the visible badge of their political aspirations. Linguistic nationalism was to them the external criterion of expressing themselves in their traditional speech, of being true to their character and of maintaining their identity.
The growing strength of the Maltese language would ultimately lead to the diminution of the Italian language. Politically, ‘no longer was it a question of English against Italian but Italian against Maltese’
Language came to emphasise the class division between the professional groups (pro-Italian) and organised Labour (pro-Maltese). The Labour Union set out to solve the linguistic wrangle. This problem was entangled in the acute political dispute of the pari passu system. It even threatened to withdraw from the National Assembly unless the language of the worker and of the home was admitted into the councils of the island. In short, the Labour Union, out of which sprang the Labour Party, was ‘adamant in the determination of making Malta a nation’.
Actually, the later introduction of Maltese into parliament owed much to Imperial perceptiveness. Outwardly, it looked as if the motive was deference to the workmen’s representatives in the National Assembly; the real consequence, however, was that the growing strength of the Maltese language would ultimately lead to the diminution of the Italian language. Politically, ‘no longer was it a question of English against Italian but Italian against Maltese’.
Like the Catholic religion, the Maltese language was not just the legacy of a distinctive, historical tradition; it was the outward expression of the inner experience of the specifically Maltese way of life. Consequently, Maltese, the national but not the official language, was kept in existence as the national identity.
The development of nationalism, as expressed in the views of the Labour movement, started to revive and to develop the poor and inadequate realm of literature. The Maltese Movement extended into the literary field that original speech which rural areas had kept alive.
In short, the Maltese form of linguistic nationalism condensed a political struggle between Italianate tendencies and Anglicisation, and later between Anglicisation and Maltese identity.
Joe Bugeja is an author. He spent 48 years in the teaching profession and was a senior lecturer of English Literature at the University of Malta.